Vitamin C is necessary for human life. It cannot be synthesized by human body but has to be taken from food. Vit C has been used in food, health products, feed and cosmetics. Vit C production is a big industry with high waste (fermented mash) discharge. Northeast Pharmaceutical Factory is the biggest factory in Vit C production and export. The factory had made a lot of foreign exchange for the nation and also financially contributed to the provincial finance. But since 1966, the price in international market reduced from $12 to $5-6 and then to $3.5-4/kg. The factory fell into big trouble. Another prom is the annually produced fermented mash 15 kilo-tons with COD 70000-100000mg/L. To get out of the woods, IAE, cooperated with Northeast Pharmaceutical Factory, tackled these problems aiming to increase the Conversion efficiency in the two-step fermentation process. The results were: the total return increased from 51-60%, the cost reduced 41%, the annual production increased to 1500 tons with output value RNB 693 million, profit RNB 30 million and earned foreign exchange $ 30million.
Prof XU Hui in IAE recalled that the cooperated work not only enhanced the international competitiveness of the factory, but also was highly evaluated by the provincial and city authority. The project was one of the Liaoning provincial10 models for Production-Study-Research combination.
Many cooperative research achievements had been awarded at national or provincial level. The work increased fermentation efficiency, decreased cost and reduced COD discharge, enhanced the competitiveness of the enterprise, brought about significant economicbenefits.
Since 2010, the two sides developed research on technologies for bulk waste recycling and have got breakthrough in sodium cologne recover from waste mother liquor and reuse. Related engineering construction will be finished in 2018. The project will reduce the bulk waste discharge and put the Vit C production into concentrated, green and intelligent channel. The vice manager general of Northeast Pharmaceuticals Group Limited, Mr HU Hao told that the two sides in the long term close cooperation, enhanced the science and technology content of the enterprise, but also enriched the experience and level of CAS in R & D work and transitions among Production, Study and Research.